1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a chip disposal device of a machine tool which discharges chips produced by machining of a workpiece to the outside of the machine.
2. Description of the Related Art
A conventional chip disposal device of this type has a problem that a cutting fluid (coolant) supplied to a machining part of a workpiece is discharged out of the machine together with chips, which has given rise to a demand for a reduction of an amount of the cutting fluid discharged to the outside of the machine. For example, in Japanese Patent 3359014, chips conveyed by a conveyor are dropped onto an inclined surface inclined from a vertical plane by about 30 degrees, and the cutting fluid adhering to the chips is separated by the collision at the time of the dropping and is collected.
However, if the chips are only dropped from the conveyor to collide with the inclined surface as in the aforesaid conventional device, there is a possibility that the cutting fluid is not sufficiently separated and the cutting fluid is discharged while remaining on the chips, which has a problem of a low collection rate of the cutting fluid.
Especially when the chips are in a lump form in which chips are entangled, the cutting fluid adheres to the chips in large amount and is not easily separated, and therefore in a case of a machine tool in which chips of this type are produced, it is required to improve a separation structure of the cutting fluid so that its discharge amount to the outside of the machine can be more reduced.
The present invention was made in view of the aforesaid conventional circumstances and has an object to provide a chip disposal device of a machine tool which surely separates and collects a cutting fluid adhering to chips, thereby capable of reducing a discharge amount of the cutting fluid to the outside of the machine.